Ground Report

North Korea expressed a rare note of thanks to its long time foe, the US for rescuing its sailors from pirates off the coast of Somalia. “We feel grateful to the United States for its assistance given to our crewmen,” the North’s official KCNA news agency said in a report late on Thursday. “This case serves as a symbol of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DRPK)-U.S. cooperation in the struggle against terrorism,” it said. In an incident in late October, the United States dispatched a destroyer to help a North Korean cargo ship, which had sent out a distress signal after it had been raided by pirates. Christopher Hill, the top U.S. envoy to the nuclear talks, said last week: “You will always find our Navy prepared to help any ship in distress. I hope the DPRK understands that we do this out of a sense of goodwill.”